Marooned – 1969 (WINNER)
This movie was a partially fictional story about the challenges and dangers of realistic space travel. In that respect, the effects were very well done, and it might even have deserved its Oscar. But do not mistake production design and direction for special effects. For all that, those things were very good, but what made them good was their adherence to accuracy and realism, both of which were impressive for a 1969 film. True, it wasn’t the first movie to strive for such realism in space travel effects. We can look at previous Best Special Effects winners, Destination Moon in 1950, and 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968, both of whom had their own takes on realistic space travel.
It is important to note that this movie that so realistically depicted actual space travel, came out in the same year in which man first landed on the moon. The eyes of the world were focused on the real thing. In that respect, the film’s adherence to reality and scientific accuracy was pretty much spot on, many things even being comparable to the wonderful 1995 film, Apollo 13. The only significant thing about the plot that deviated from reality was the fact that the actual mission upon which the film is based was that of a single-man flight. In the movie, there were three astronauts to give the audience a few extra points of drama.
So really, the effects focused on floating objects and men in space suits, space crafts that had to rendezvous with each other in zero gravity, and all of these things being blue-screened and composited together against the backdrop of outer space, just above the earth. The images of the globe were cool, and at several points we are treated to wonderful sunrises over the edge of the planet. The designs of both the NASA and the Soviet spacecraft were great. And incidentally, the concept of an American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut working together to save the life of two space explorers was not lost on me, nor did it probably escape the notice of the audiences of 1969.
There was also a very cool effect of a hurricane, complete with high winds, blowing debris, and heavy rain. There was a very simple but effective moment when the eye of the hurricane became centered over the launch pad. They simply turned off the wind machines, but it was a cool moment in the narrative. And lest I forget, the two rocket launches were also very accurately depicted and looked good on the screen. Once again, very realistic.
I really have very few complaints about the effects in this movie. Everything was done well, but my biggest problem with the film was its glacial pace. Everything was so slow, even bordering on being dull. Now, I’m guessing that maybe this was inherent to the effects and their realism because true weightlessness is a pretty slow endeavor. Nothing is done very fast. The problem is that it doesn’t make for a very engaging cinematic experience. A movie does not require quick action to be good, but realistic or not, it gets a bit dull when all the action is in slow motion.